Washington State

John Singer and Paul Barwick’s attempt to
obtain a marriage license culminated in the 1974 Washington Court
of Appeals decision Singer
v. Hara which held that same-sex couples do not have the
right to marry. In 1998, conservative legislators succeeded in amending
the Washington code to prohibit same-sex marriage. In 2004, two
cases challenging Washington’s same-sex marriage ban were
filed in Washington Superior Court. Both Andersen
v. Sims and Castle
v. Washington held that Washington’s same-sex marriage
ban violates the Washington Constitution. Defendants appealed; both
cases will be heard in the Washington Supreme Court in 2005.

Plaintiffs in Andersen v. Sims, one of two cases currently
challenging Washington's statute prohibiting same-sex marriage.

Brenda Bauer and Cindy Castle of Seattle, Washington, two plaintiffs
in Castle v. Washington, the second case currently
challenging Washington’s same-sex marriage ban.